Today we have more previews for new 2011/12 TV season shows from Star Trek vets have been released. First up is a look at JJ Abrams new drama thriller Person of Interest from CBS. We also have a preview for ABC’s mysterious adventure show The River, featuring Bruce Greenwood. Watch them both below.

PERSON OF INTEREST stars Jim Caviezel, Emmy Award winner Michael Emerson and Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson in a crime thriller about a presumed dead former-CIA agent who teams up with a mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes by using their own brand of vigilante justice. Reese’s (Caviezel) special training in covert operations appeals to Finch (Emerson), a software genius who invented a program that uses pattern recognition to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes. Using state-of-the-art surveillance technology, the two work outside of the law using Reese’s adept skills and Finch’s unlimited wealth to unravel the mystery of the person of interest and stop the crime before it happens. Reese’s actions catch the attention of the NYPD, including homicide detective Carter (Henson), and Fusco (Kevin Chapman), a cop who Reese uses to his advantage. With infinite crimes to investigate, Reese and Finch find that the right person, with the right
information, at the right time, can change everything. Emmy Award winners J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk ("Lost"), Academy Award nominee Jonathan Nolan ("Memento"), David Semel ("Heroes") and Greg Plageman ("Cold Case") are the executive producers for Warner Bros. Television.

The River (w/ Bruce Greenwood) Coming To ABC Midseason

Preview

Synopsis

The River follows the story of wildlife expert and TV personality Emmet Cole. Emmet set course around the world with his wife, Tess, and son, Lincoln, while filming what would become one of the most popular shows in television. After he goes missing deep in the Amazon, his family, friends and crew set out on a mysterious and deadly journey to find him.

Famed explorer Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood) went looking for magic deep in the uncharted Amazon and never returned. The shocking truth about his disappearance is out there, somewhere, just waiting to be discovered. To the millions of kids who grew up watching his nature show, Dr. Cole was a hero. To his own son, Lincoln (Joe Anderson), he was more of an enigma. Now, six months after he vanished, Lincoln is finally ready to bury the past when Dr. Cole’s emergency beacon suddenly goes off. At the urging of his mother, Tess (Leslie Hope), Lincoln reluctantly joins her on a search for his father. To fund the rescue, they agree to let Dr. Cole’s cagey ex-producer, Clark (Paul Blackthorne), film the mission documentary-style. The mixed crew of old friends and new acquaintances includes the sexy and resourceful Lena (Eloise Mumford), loyal mechanic Emilio (Daniel Zacapa) and lethal bodyguard Captain Kurt Brynildson (Thomas Kretschmann).

Persons of Interest reminds me of the Minority Report a little bit when I first read it.

I hope we get to see both these series soon down here.

It seems TV3 are messing with Hawaii Five-O. They just screened the first episode of the second series last night (Wednesday 18 May) and now I see they have replaced it with documentary about sharks. WTF? I hope TV3 will screen the complete series after this without anymore rude interruptions. This is happening more often here on TV – series being interrupted, or simply taken off the air mid-season without explanation. Is this happening with you guys as well?

Frankly, I don’t see how they hope to get and keep audiences when they do this sh*te. Not to mention those bl****dy commercials… It does not make for pleasant viewing.

I don’t think Person of Interest is either science fiction OR fantasy at all. We are indeed fast becoming a technocratically run surveillance society and the show simply seems to reflect that fact. Your phones and laptops can be remotely turned on and you can be spied on through your own devices without you knowing about it. Your STRONG passwords can be easily cracked with the right computers inside of thirty minutes. The FBI can hide GPS trackers on your car without telling you. The cops have devices to steal information off your cellphones.

Oh yeah, all this tech is great when it’s focused on the “bad guys” over “there” somewhere. But you should have a sneaking suspicion by now that all this tech is really being used on YOU. Because it is.

Well, you can either wrap every piece of electronic gadget and computer you have in aluminum tin foil to counter the FBI’s attempts to spy on you or you can go back to basics and move into the mountains and survive on deer, fish, pine cones, and take your chances with Bigfoot. :-D